NASDAQ-registered Heritage Distilling Holding Company has announced its $360 million digital asset financing strategy centered on story (IP) tokens, according to an August 11 statement provided to Cryptoslate.
The company said it has secured $220 million through a private placement consisting of $100 million in cash and $120 million story tokens.
Of the total revenue, $82 million will be used to purchase additional IP tokens from the Story Foundation. Meanwhile, the foundation plans to roll out the entire cash portion and buy back IP tokens in the open market within 90 days of the transaction.
The move is the first time a company registered with NASDAQ has adopted IP tokens as its primary reserve asset, reflecting wider changes between traditional companies integrating alternative assets into their finances. Key supporters for the funding round include A16Z Crypto, Amber Group and Arrington Capital.
However, the announcement coincided with a sharp market decline in Heritage’s stock and IP value.
Heritage’s Cask stock plummeted nearly 30% to around $0.49, according to Google Finance data. At the same time, Cryptoslate’s data also recorded a 3.65% reduction in IP token values to about $6.35.
Understanding Nasdaq’s moves in the story
Story CEO Sy Lee said the decision to list on Nasdaq is driven by a desire to extend the project’s narrative beyond the crypto community.
According to him:
“We’re not doing this because other people are. It’s clear why we’re. Our story needs to be told beyond the code. There is no better way to do that than building a presence in the US stock market, the world’s largest capital market. ”
Lee explained the story as a blockchain network that operates at the intersection of crypto, artificial intelligence and intellectual property. Rather than competing on yields and trading speeds, the company focuses on unlocking what it considers as a $80 trillion asset class that spans AI datasets, entertainment franchises and biomedical patents.
The purpose of Story is to enable IP programs, allowing author attribution, traceability, and fair compensation. Lee emphasized that the next competitive front for AI is not just calculation power, but also data ownership and monetization.
Lee pointed out that the network has already secured significant adoption as the Layer 1 blockchain already has hundreds of thousands of IPs, and already has hundreds of thousands of IPs, including artists like Justin Bieber, Blackpink, and BTS, as well as global brands like Crocs and Adidas.
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